DES MOINES, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump canceled all but one in-person campaign event in the lead-up to Monday’s Iowa caucuses as a blizzard whips the state.
Trump’s campaign said Friday that the decision was made out of “an abundance of caution amid severe weather advisories.” Iowa has been pummeled by heavy snow, extreme winds and plunging temperatures since early Friday, derailing the final leg of the campaign. Temperatures are expected to dip below zero into Monday, creating a life-threatening deep freeze that could prevent people from traveling to caucus sites.
Trump, who had four rallies slated for this weekend, instead will be holding telephone town halls with voters he hopes will caucus for him. His campaign appears to still be holding one in-person rally in Indianola on Sunday.
In a video, Trump claimed he was still going to be in Iowa. “Saturday night or something. One way or the other, I’m getting there. You have the worst weather, I guess, in recorded history ... nobody knows how exactly we’re going to get there, but we’re going to figure it out.”
The reality is that Trump doesn’t need to be physically present in Iowa much to still win the caucuses, the first time voters will weigh in on his candidacy since he left the Oval Office in 2021 and has racked up a litany of legal woes. Polls have him at roughly 50% support, and the former president is unlikely to jeopardize his standing by canceling his get-out-the-vote events.
Trump’s absence is probably something his top GOP rivals, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, won’t let him forget. DeSantis and Haley are scrambling for second place and are still slated to hold events across the state on Saturday and Sunday. But the campaigns are also looking beyond Iowa already to the nominating contests in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
The awful weather could keep voters home on Monday, especially in rural areas where roads aren’t passable and the upcoming deep freeze could be catastrophic. Monday’s caucus day is expected to be the coldest in modern history.